The only high-profile specialty release this weekend was "Hyde Park on the Hudson" from Focus, normally a prime date for late year high profile releases (last year, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," "Young Adult" both premiered). "Hyde Park" did respectable business under difficult circumstances, but at this stage doesn't look as strong as other recent openers. The main story remains the performance of several films that have yet to open in more than 500 theaters. "Silver Linings Playbook," "Anna Karenina" and "Hitchcock" have established themselves across the country. It remains to be seen how much wider each of them can go, with "SLP" still showing the greatest potential (full analysis of the Weinstein's calculated risk and money-saving strategy is below.)

The second skateboarding-based doc to open this week, here the focus is on teenagers in deep suburban LA County interacting in their out-of-school lives. It scored a playdate at NY's IFC Center, for which this level of gross is at the low end.

What comes next: This looks like a dead-end.

Ongoing/expanding

"Beware of Mr. Baker" (Snag Films) - Week 2

$10,300 in 1 theater; PSA: $10,300; Cumulative: $36,300

A solid second week for this aging rock-star doc at NY's Film Forum.

What comes next: Further openings will come after the holiday rush, but these numbers will enhance its chances for prime showcasing, particularly after the success of the slightly similar "Searching for Sugar Man."

"Rust and Bone" (Sony Pictures Classics) - Week 3

$54,800 in 4 theaters (+2); PSA: $13,700; Cumulative: $131,300

LA opened this weekend, joining NY as this Marion Cotillard-starring romantic drama is settling in for an adequate pre-holiday launch. This looks a bit better than its initial OK but hardly great openings (clearly affected by the massive competition for art-house attention).

What comes next: This week should bring some significant nomination attention, which will be timely as this heads into the holidays and additional openings.

"Hitchcock" (Fox Searchlight) - Week 3

$725,000 in 183 theaters (+133); PSA: $3,962; Cumulative: $1,674,000

Respectable if not spectacular numbers for this big expansion of the "Psycho"-analysis. These are lower than somewhat similar theater totals for Searchlight's earlier "Beasts of the Southern Wild," More significant among recent releases is that at nearly double the same number (and often overlapping) theaters, "Anna Karenina" last week had a PSA almost $2,000 higher, suggesting that this is more of a niche than somewhat crossover film.

What comes next: A rapid expansion to 500 theaters next Friday will indicate a lot more about how sustained the performance will be going into the holidays.

"The Central Park 5" (IFC) - Week 3; also available on Video on Demand

$27,900 in 9 theaters (+2); PSA: $3,100; Cumulative: $125,600

In a week of welcome news (this won Best Documentary from the NY Film Critics) and bad (it failed to make the 15 film Oscar doc shortlist), the theatrical release expanded a bit, with continued modest but steady results.

What comes next: The VOD play now as well as the crowded market will keep the theatrical life more limited, as the lack of Oscar contention also makes continued key city visibility less vital.

Defying all expectations that this would be at far more theaters by this point - the original plan was to go wide at Thanksgiving - this likely Oscar contender stayed at the same modest level of playdates, while continuing to show reasonable success. Just missing the top 10 (again), falling a modest 28%, this is already at $14 million (better than "Beasts of the Southern Wild" and nearly as much as "The Master" in their entire runs) while still at the early stages of release.

There were a lot of ways to play this release to maximize its gross while not overspending. With the awards machine going into full gear, there are several places for this to benefit ahead. With the clearly decent word of mouth so far, but with Weinstein also having the potentially strong (and very long) "Django Uprising" to get released on Christmas Day, it isn't at all a sign of weakness if the widest release comes shortly after Oscar nominations announcements and The Golden Globes in January. And if that is what happens (and the public reacts as hoped), then that could be the optimal play for Weinsteins to enhance the chances for Jennifer Lawrence and other possible contenders. It would also mean not overspending over multiple weeks, including some very pricey ones (because of all the competition for TV time) during the height of the season.

What comes next: Having faith in the ultimate success of a carefully calculated release plan, with all the risks of that involves.

"Anna Karenina" (Focus) - Week 4

$1,538,000 in 422 theaters (+38); PSA: $3,645; Cumulative: $6,602,000

Playing steadily (good enough for 12th place for the weekend despite its limited theaters) though not at the level of "Silver Linings Playbook." This has gotten a solid initial sampling and a decent total so far. The problem is the upcoming roadblock of Christmas competition, unlike other times of the year when a further expansion would be easier to achieve if Focus so desired. It doesn't have the likely awards presence that "SLP" will (although best actress and some craft nominations remain possible), but on merits it should still be on at least enough screens to have some Christmas boost.

What comes next: Waiting for the Globe, SAG and other nominating groups this week.

Thompson on Hollywood

Born and raised in Manhattan, Anne Thompson grew up going to the Thalia and The New Yorker and wound up at grad Cinema Studies at NYU. She worked at United Artists and Film Comment before heading west as that magazine's west coast editor. She wrote for the LA Weekly, Sight and Sound, Empire, The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly before serving as West Coast Editor of Premiere. She wrote for The Washington Post, The London Observer, Wired, More, and Vanity Fair, and did staff stints at The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. She eventually took her blog Thompson on Hollywood to Indiewire. She taught film criticism at USC Critical Studies, and continues to host the fall semester of “Sneak Previews” for UCLA Extension.